KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 — Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Bhd (BPMB) will focus on reviewing companies which require funding of more than RM20 million under the Industry Digitalisation Transformation Fund (IDTF), said its chairman Datuk Zaiton Mohd Hassan.

The RM3 billion IDTF, announced in the 2019 Budget, is aimed at improving the adoption of Industry 4.0-related technologies to increase the productivity and competitiveness of businesses in Malaysia.

Zaiton further explained that SME Bank Malaysia is expected to review applications for smaller funds.

“We are looking at all Malaysian companies and also looking at companies owned by foreigners, and we are not limiting ourselves to small players, we will actually go beyond what we are doing now, at the moment we are just targeting the big companies but for IDTF, we will be looking at companies which need funds to commercialise,” she told reporters after launching the fund today.

To a question, she said that BPMB has received approval from Bank Negara Malaysia for the disbursement of the fund, although the bank is in the midst of rolling out a marketing campaign to attract applicants.

Under the IDTF, borrowers will benefit from an interest subsidy of two per cent per annum, provided by the government to companies wishing to upgrade their production technology.

The funding will be offered to borrowers through BPMB’s existing products, in line with the bank’s credit underwriting standards and guidelines.

In a statement, the bank said IDTF can be used to part-finance the acquisition or development of specific assets, including software, licences and patents.

“It could also part-finance projects or contracts that are relevant to digital technologies, and the funding may be offered to technology firms or manufacturing companies adopting technologies to enhance their operations,” it said.

The fund is also open to companies seeking financial assistance to construct related infrastructure for the adoption of technology.